Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem

We own this book but I listened to it while I did yard work. It wasn't the most captivating book I've ever read, but it was interesting. The idea of evolution was told through the eyes of germs and all sorts of little animals and plants! There is an explanation for why diabetes was important at one point of history. I don't remember the specifics of what I read, but I was fascinated by it at the time. Definitely not a "beach read", but a nice book for a change of pace.

Driftwood Summer by Patti Callahan Henry

Two good books in a row! Another book about relationships and family. Riley is a single mother trying to earn her living by running the bookstore she and her mother, Kitsy, had started 12 years ago. The store is in financial trouble and they are hoping that a big celebration of the cottage's 200th birthday will turn the tide. When Kitsy has a bad fall, Riley calls on her sisters to come home and help. Maisy is guilted into coming back from California where she is a designer. Maisy has had very little to do with the family since she took off after highschool. Adalee is the youngest. She is in college and is very irritated that she is expected to come home and work instead of enjoying her summer with her boyfriend. There are lots of resentments and secrets that have been buried for a long time - and now they are going to come out. I loved the characters and the way the book was written. No sex or violence - she depends on the characters to keep your interest!

Bird in Hand by Christina Baker Kline

I started reading this book yesterday and I finished it this morning. Yes it was good and read quickly! The story begins with a tragic accident in which a young boy is killed. It wasn't Alison's fault - although she had been drinking. It devastates her and affects her marriage to Charlie. At least that's what she thinks - actually there is a little bit more going on. And it's going on with Alison's best friend, Claire. Claire's husband, Ben, is totally unaware although he knows their marriage is a bit wobbly. This is a book about relationships - between spouses and between friends. Very well written. We have some other books by Kline in the library - I will definitely be checking those out too.

24 Hours by Greg Iles

This book is also an old (that being relative!) book that I found while browsing the Wilbor site. The title refers to the amount of time there is between the kidnapping of a child and the child's safe return to his or her parents. The kidnappers have a great system going and it's been successful f times. When a doctor is away at a convention, two members of the team (Joe and Huey) kidnap the child from the home. Huey ( the large and mentally slow member of the team) takes the child away to a secret location. There he tries to keep the child as happy as he can under the circumstances. As soon as the child is gone Joe approaches the mother and tells her what has happened. Joe has found that he doesn't need to keep his face covered or use a fake name - all he has to do is tell the mother that the kidnapping is all about money and when he receives his money the child will be returned unharmed the next day. And that's all there is to it - oh yeah, there is that part about coming back and killing the child if the parents go to the authorities. Joe's wife Cheryl is the third member of the team. She approaches the father and tells him what is going on. In twenty-four hours Joe makes enough money to live on for the next year.
The reason the book exists is that things don't go as planned this time! This book has characters that I loved, vilains to hate and lots of twists and turns along the way. I enjoyed it very much.

Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder

This book is a few years old, but I saw it on Wilbor (audiobook site) and decided it sounded good. And it was! The plot itself has been used before and I wasn't surprised at the ending. However, it was well written (and read!) and kept my interest throughout. Jason is a salesman for the Entronics company. He is happily married and they are expecting their first child. One day Jason has a car accident. The tow-truck driver is Kurt, a former Special Forces soldier, who is towing for a friend's company. Kurt and Jason end up forming a friendship which eventually leads to Kurt getting a job at Jason's company. Suddenly things start going really well for Jason at work. Seems he has sold his soul and doesn't even know it! A good suspense novel without the gore!

A Thread of Truth by Marie Bostwick

This is a follow-up book to A Single Thread that I read last year. The same characters are still there and some new ones have been added. In the last book the quilting women rallied around Evelyn and her battle with a new business plus breast cancer. In this book the new woman is Ivy. She has escaped an abusive husband and is trying to hide herself and her two children. Ivy is sure that she won't be able to stay in New Bern for long and tries to keep herself as isolated as possible. Of course that isn't possible with the quilting women! This book is very predictable - but I knew that before I started reading! It was a life-affirming gentle read about the value of friendships.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Connie Goodwin is supposed to spend her summer doing research for her dissertation...until her mother calls and asks her to take care of the sale of her grandmother's home in Salem, MA. On her first night there, Connie discovers evidence of a book of recipes left by a woman named Deliverance Dane. She launches on a quest to find this book and more information about the author. Moving back and forth between the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and the modern (well, 1991) day, this book provides a fascinating look at how we view "different" people. I liked it!

Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon

This book was a little different from most and a fascinating read. In college, Henry, Tess, Winnie and Suz formed a group called the Compassionate Dismantlers. They had a manifesto and everything! The idea was to take things apart in order to understand them. They did a number of fairly destructive things. After college the four spent time in a remote cabin where they plotted their future of destruction. When Suz dies everything changes quickly. The others cover up her death and try to go on to normal lives. Henry and Tess get married and have a daughter. Ten years later they are still together but Henry is living in the barn while Tess and Emma (the daughter) stay in the house. In an attempt to reconcile her parents, Emma sets off events that end in tragedy for a victim of the Dismantlers pranks. Soon Henry and Tess are living in fear that the past will be revealed and that they will both go to prison. Fascinating read. Loved it!

Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan

Sullivan is a professional writer but this is a first novel for her - and I hope it isn't the last! I loved reading this book. It is the story of Celia, Bree, Sally and April. They are a diverse group who are freshman at Smith College. The novel begins with Celia the morning after a one-night stand. She needs to get herself together and catch a bus to return to Smith for the wedding of Sally. On the bus she closes her eyes.....and we all travel back eight years to the first day of college. The backgrounds of the girls is seamlessly woven into the antics and anguish of college. In the second half of the book we are back to the present day and we find out where the girls, now women, have ended up. Well-written and interesting!

Three Weeks to Say Goodbye by C.J. Box

The title of the book refers to the amount of time Jack and Melissa have to find a way to keep the baby that they adopted. Angelina is a beautiful, good baby. Through a slip-up, Angelina's birth father (Garrett) never signed the paper giving up his parental rights. Now Garrett's father wants him to face up to his responsibility and take the baby back. The father happens to be a judge with a lot of influence. There are twists and turns that make the book interesting. The book is divided into sections with the titles of "x days to go". It was a quick read and I enjoyed it.

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

I enjoyed this book very much. The title refers to the name a woman gave to her group of four couples who live on the island of Nantucket. The book opens with the drowning deaths of one of the couples. During the rest of the book we find out what the relationships are (and were) between the eight people. I liked the way Hilderbrand peeled away the layers of the story. As with most books and with all people - everyone has a secret or two hidden away! There is also the mystery of the drownings - was it intentional or an accident?

Come Sunday by Isla Morley

Married to a minister and living in Hawaii, Abbe has managed to put her childhood in South Africa behind her. Until, that is, her 3-year-old daughter is struck by a car and killed. With her world in shatters around her, Abbe questions her faith, her marriage, and those childhood memories. Not until she returns to South Africa is she able to move forward with her life.

I had to force myself to read this book. It came highly recommended but it was still difficult to pick up a book when I knew going into it that a child dies. Abbe's grief and inability to move on with her life is clearly and heartbreakingly described. At times I wanted to shake her and tell her to just get over it - and at others I was right there with her in her despair. Scenes from her childhood are interspersed with her present day life and I found the insight into pre-apartheid South Africa to be very interesting.

Not an easy read but one I ultimately enjoyed.